HIRING OF TEENAGERS FOR SUMMER COOLS OFF

Employers filled many positions in May; now job market has slowed down

Landing a summer job was not in June’s forecast for American teens. The best weather came in May.

Despite teen hiring starting off stronger in May than it has in seven years, rates dipped back down in June, according to a recent report by Challenger, Gray and Christmas, an employment firm based in Chicago.

May saw 215,000 teens being hired, the largest number since before the recession. Waiting to apply proved to be a poor choice, with almost 100,000 fewer teens on the payroll in June 2013 than in June 2012.

James Pedderson, director of public relations for Challenger Gray, said earlier hiring could have been caused by employers having higher expectations in the face of a recovering economy.

“They might have wanted to get a jump on increased competition,” he said, “but we’re still not at the level compared to the numbers we saw in the early 2000s.”

It’s unlikely this month’s numbers will help 2013 surpass 2012’s hiring, Pedderson said. July is typically a slow month as it falls in the middle of the summer season.

But this trend of early hiring is nothing out of the ordinary in San Diego, said Legoland media relations specialist Julie Estrada. She said though the company is constantly hiring to keep its theme park, water park, aquarium and new hotel fully staffed, May is prime time for adding teenage employees, who are as young as 16.

“We do a lot of hiring in May so we’re ready and equipped for June,” she said. “That’s our busiest time.”

Legoland relies heavily on teenagers — or “model citizens,” as the park calls its employees — to create a family experience for its 2- to 12-year-old clientele. Roughly 40 percent of its employees are 16 to 19 years old, Estrada said.

“The teens are eager and excited. It’s a new adventure for them,” she said. “And they have so much patience. They talk to kids on their level.”

Pedderson, the Challenger Gray spokesman, said entertainment venues are becoming more common for young employees as brick-and-mortar stores decline due to increased online shopping.

He said the tight job market has pushed people of all ages into underemployment, increasing competition for hourly part-time jobs traditionally filled by teenagers.

Despite the slow return to pre-recession teenage hiring rates, Estrada, of Legoland, said many of the model citizens have a bright future.

She pointed to a former colleague who is now managing public relations for a Legoland property in Sydney. Estrada said the employee started her career as a ride operator at 16 and worked her way up.

“And you hear so many stories like that here,” she said. “They start working here and never leave.”